Monkey King: Hero Is Back

By keeping simplicity at its core, Monkey King: Hero Is Back offers an entertaining if somewhat mindless distraction to the blockbuster titles releasing around it. Sure, it's a little bit too short, the narrative isn't particularly gripping, and it looks like an early PS3 game, but that all falls by the wayside in the heat of battle. Thanks to fun brawling mechanics, Monkey King: Hero Is Back does just enough to deserve your attention.

As a whole, Monkey King: Hero Is Back has some nice features, although the overall game ruined by some very bad gameplay design. Not to mention the combat is shoddy and not even enjoyable. Sure the game looks pretty, but the repetitive and mundane gameplay ruins the experience.

Overall, the game has beautiful graphics and aesthetics but it’s not enough to save the game from the monotony of its gameplay. I wouldn’t go as far as saying that it’s unplayable but it’s that kind of game where you just want to play it once and check what it’s all about and then forget about it to move on to the next game.

Learn how to help children not get eaten by monsters in this PS2-esque Chinese tale.

Monkey King is back, but why? This game is so boring and fighting as well.

Monkey King: Hero is Back has potential but is held back by a flawed execution and basic gameplay.

Monkey King Hero is back is an unfortunate throwback to a bygone era where tie-ins where made to capitalize on the appeal of their licenses, without any effort to make them enjoyable games.

For what feels like a game from the PS2 era given a lick of current-gen paint, Monkey King: Hero is Back isn’t half bad. It’s a bit simple, so it’s never going to excite in the same way that God of War or Devil May Cry V does, but that doesn’t mean some won’t get a decent amount of enjoyment out of it.

It is a game that brings breathe to a disdained genre, but that seems stuck in a past time. And we are not talking about feudal China.

Sadly, what little fun there is to be had with Monkey King: Hero Is Back is constantly ruined with poor level design, repetitive encounters and annoying sound design.